Means for sinking piles.



No. 882,520. EATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

F. B. GILBRETH.

MEANS FOR SINKING FILES.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 25,1906.

wi'nessesi InveniorI W Frz nh B Gillzrek UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

FRANK B. GILBRETH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CORRUGATED CONCRETE PILE COMPANY LF AMERICA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MEANS FOR SINKING FILES.

No. 882,520. Original application filed Ju1y 3,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. GILBRETH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented an'lmprovement in Means for Sinking Piles, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to the sinking of piles and more particularly, though not exclusively, to piles formed wholly or partially of concrete with the object of performing the sinking thereof expeditiously and without'injury to the structure of the pile.

This application is a division. of my prior co-pending application, Se. No. 268,240, filed July 3, O5.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustration of one specific embodiment there of while-its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is aside elevation, partially broken away, showing a portion of one form of apparatus employed in carrying out my invention; Fig. 2 shows a vertical central section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 3 is a section in plan on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a erspective of the casing shown'in Fig. 1, an Fig. 5 is a perspective of the spacing block.

In the drawings (1 represents the upper end ofa concrete pile, which may be ofany suitable form, shape or construction, but which I have here shown as hexagonal in cross-section, reinforced by the six longitudinal reinforcing rods a of twisted steel and provided passage a formed in concrete and extendthe with a central jetting the molded body of the ing throughout the length of the pile to.

lower end thereof, which latter is not shown.

Concrete piles of this or other constructions may be sunk wholly by ramming or driving, or wholly by the use of a water jet discharging at the lower end of the pile and acting to displace the earthy matter and carry it about the sides of the pile, thus causing the sinking of the latter. The apparatus which I-have here disclosed, however, is particularly designed for carrying out a combination of these two methods, the sinking by means of tK'ewater jet being supplemented Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 17, 190a.

1905, Serial No. 263,240. Divided and this application filed September 25, 1886. Serial No. 336,147.

by drivin or ramming, or other forcing means at t ie pile head, and it is this method which I prefer in practice to carry out.

In the driving of concrete piles much care must be exercised to avoid the fracture of the pile body. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have surmounted the pile with a body of cushioning material I), which is adapted to compress under the blow of the ile hammer and through this cushion the hammer blow is transmitted to the head of the pile, preventing injury thereto. This cushioningbody may be of any suitable material but is preferably of shavings, sawdust, rubber scrap or other similar and suitable loose cushioning material, each of which may be used alone, but which for the best results should be combined in whole or in part. The cushioning material is held within the casing 0, herein of sheet metal and herein, though not necessarily, cylindrical in form. The cushioning material rests upon a fixed diaphragm or wall (1, within the casing and the latter is supported upon the head of the pile by the said diaphragm through the interposition of the spacing block e.

The hammer f slides in suitable guides g, g, mechanism for raising and dropping the same being of any suitable or usual type, and not herein shown. When the hammer drops it strikes the wooden cushion block h, which is seated in the follower i. The latter is preferably of metal and rests upon the plunger member k, which is referably of wood and slidable in and out 0? the upper open end of the casing c and is supported upon the cush io'ning body 1). Both the follower iand the casing c on age the vertical guides do, g, the iatter for t is pur ose being prov-i ed with the channel irons l riveted to the outside of the casing. This causes the casing with its contained parts as well as the follower which rests thereon, to descend with and u n the pile andin alinelnent therewith as the atter is sunk. The walls of the casing extend below the wooden space block and loosely embrace the head of. the pile so that the one is located and alined IEtfftlVelY to the other.

It will be seen that the construction of the protecting device described does not necessarilg, require the casing to fit the pile head with any degree of approximation and in fact a singlecasing may be used u on piles of tion of the hammer blow but is accurately guided through engagement of the closely fitting casing with the guides g in the direc- 7 hammer blow centrally upon thephmger 7c.,

tion in which it is intended to be sunk. This is 5 an important advantage particularly where the water jet is resorted to either as a principal or as a cooperating sinking means. Where it is desired to make use of a single casing for piles of different diameter, the'object may still be achieved by the use of an adapter.

Another advantage of the illustrated construction of protecting device lies in the fact that the cushioning material being effectively retained irrespective of the fit of the casing upon the pile head, it may be applied indiscriminately to piles of irregular section, 7 such for example as the hexagonal pile illustrated, or tocorrugated piles, or piles of other non-circular cross-sections, Without sacrifice of elfective'ness'i- To assure the stability of the apparatus and the alinement of the parts intervening between the pile and the hammer, l have provided means to cause the reception of the For this purpose the upper part 01?. the plunger is given preferably an approximately spherical shape and fits into a corresponding recess preferably of slightly greater curvature on the under side of the follower. tends to centralize the blow along the axis of the plunger, even should the follower or the plunger be slightly out of alinement.- To further insure the central delivery of the hammer blow l have rounded the to' of the cushioning block 7b, and the face of t' is hammer where it strikes this block is correspondingly cupped. The spacer block e, which is preferably of wood, is cut away or slotted vertically at e to provide a s ace for the insertion of the water jet pi e m etween the cushioning body and the pi e, the casing 0 being also cut away at c to clear the pipe. The jetting pipe m is connected with any suitable source of water supply under pressure and has the down-turned branch m entering the jetting passage a and extending to the lower end of the pile.

In operation the pile after being placed in osition is driven into the ground by the liammer f, which delivers its repeated blows through the cushion block h to the follower i. From the latter they are transmitted to the pile through the plunger 7c, cushioning body diaphragm d and block 6, the cushioning body, at each blow of the hammer, yieldingsuihciently under the plunger k to cushion the blow and prevent injury to the" pile. "he cushioning material being heldbetween the stationary wall formed by the diaphragm d and the movable wall formed by the plunger This 1 ssaeeo' is, does not come in contact with the pile and is retained in place without the need of packing, the cushion yielding without necessary movement of the casing 0 upon the pile. The employment of the wooden block 6, as well as the wooden plunger block l", and the cushion block '72 interposes a considerable mass of solid semi-elastic cushioning material between the head of the pile as well as the loose cushioning material 1), increasing there by the protection to the-pile against fracture and the likelihood of a direct central delivery of the blow.

During the driving of the pile, water is freely admitted under pressure through the pipe m and, forming ,a high pressure jet at the foot of the entering pile, rendersthe sinking thereof an easy and rapid operation. The water discharged at the advancing foot of the ile loosens the earth and carries the subdivided earthy particles upward to the surface at and about the sides of the pile, progressively excavating the material in advance of the pile and the upward stream acting as a lubricant, so to speak, toassist the settling of the pile. In practice I have found that concrete piles of thirty or more feet in length may be sunk under favorable conditions in about twentyminutes by the combined use of the water jet and the hammer. The puddling action of the water upon the earth adjacent the sides of the pile is highly beneficial in giving the latter a firm adherenceto the adjacent soil, for, when left to harden, the wet earth settles closely in and about the sides of the pile. I

In order to permit the easy withdrawal from the pile of the follower, with or without the casing and its contents, I have provided the follower with means comprising hooks a, and the casing with hooks o by which the same may be attached to the hammer, as by means of the rope 1) shown in dotted-lines in 1, and thereby lifted away from the pile with the hammer.

My invention so far as it comprehends the sinking of a pile through the use of a water jet assisted by other means, is not of course limited to the usual ramming of the pile by the ordinary pile driving apparatus, although with the described means for protecting the pile such ramming may be employed without danger of fracture or other injury to the concrete. t is within my invention to employ means other than a ham.- mei for assisting the a ater jet. While I have illustrated 'and described with particularity one form of my invention, itshould be understood thatthe same sub- ;mitted wholly for illustrative purposes and that extensive modifications may be made in the details and procedure described without departing from the spirit of my invention. Claimr 1. File sinking protecting means comprising a casing, cushioning material within said casing and a plunger member movable within the casing above the cushioning material to receive the hammer blow.

2. Pile sinking protecting means comprising a casing, cushioning means within said casing and relatively movable means within said casing for transmitting the hammer blow to the cushioning means.

combination with a casing, cushioning means within said casing, a stationary wall on one side thereof and a movable wall at the other side.

4. A pile protecting device having a cushion both of solid and loose cushioning material to protect the pile from the blow of the hammer.

5. The combination with a concrete pile having a non-circular cross-section, head forcing means and jetting means and cush ioning means therefor, said cushioning means being applicable to the non-circular heads of piles of varying size and different cross-sectional shapes.

6. The combination with a concrete pile, of a pile driving hammer and a cushion of loose material and a cushion of solid ma-' terial between the pile and the hammer.

7. In a pile sinking protecting device forconcrete piles, a cushion holding casing having a cushion support for supporting the same upon the head of a pile, said support being yieldable relatively to the material of the pile.

8. In a pile sinking protectin device the combination with a casing, cus iioning material within said casing and a wooden plunger block above said cushioning material.

9. In a pile sinking rotecting device, means for delivering a cus ioned blow to the head of the pile comprising a cushion, a member resting upon said cushion toreceive the blow and means for maintaining the GO the pile and a wooden cushioning member also between said hammer and pile.

13. In a pile sinking device, the combina-- tion with a cushioning member of a hammer and a follower between said hammer and 5 -said cushioning member.

3. In a pile sinking protecting device, the

alinement of said cushion and of said mom- 14. In a pile sinking device, the combination with cushioning means, a member ada ted to transmit the hammer blow to sai cushioning means and a follower to transmit .the hammer blow to said member.

15. In a pile"'sinking device, cushioning means, a member for transmitting the hammer blow to said cushioning means and a selfcentering follower engaging said hammer.

16. The combination with a pile of cushioning means, a block above the cushionin means to transmit the hammer blow an means to maintain the block, cushioning means and pile in alinement.

17. The combination with a pile of a casing, cushioning means, a follower and hammer, and means for delivering the hammer blow centrally of the pile, the follower and the cushion.

18. A pile driving apparatus having a casing adapted to be supported by the head of the pile, cushioning means within saidcasing and a wooden member to receive the driving blow and transmit it to the cushioning means.

19, Pile sinking protecting means comprising a body of loose cushioning material, a casin confining the same, a relatively unyieldab le member adapted to beflplaced between the cushioning ody and the head of the pile to hold the former out of contact therewith, said member being recessed to permit the connection of a lateral jetting pipe with the pile interior.

20. Pile sinking protecting means comprisin an open-ended casing adapted to be place upon the head of a pile, a movable plunger 1n said open end, and cushionim material within said casing beneath said plunger.

21. A pile sinking protecting device havm a casing adapted to be placed upon the pile head, said casing having means tor confining a body of loose cushioning material and head.

22. Ina pile sinking protecting device, the.- combination with a casing \adapted to rest cushioning material within said casing, said casing having a chamber for said cushioning material closed against the exit of said material at the bottom thereof.

ing a casing adapte to be loosely held upon 5 the head of the .pile, a yielding cushion to receive the hammer blow anda relatively unyielding member to support the casing upon the pile. i 24-. A pile protecting device for concrete piles comprising a casing provided with means for supporting it loosely on the head of the pile, a body ofloose cushioning material within the casing, and a member resting above the cushioning material and movholding the same out of contact with the pile 23. A pile sinkin protecting device hav loosely upon the head, of a body of loose able relatively to the casing to transmit the hammer blow to the pile through the cushioning material.

25. A pile protecting device for concrete piles comprising a casing adapted to rest loosely upon the head of the pile, an interior transverse partition Wall for supporting said casing thereon, loose cushioning material above said partition Wall, and a plunger movable relatively to said casing above the cushioning material for transmitting thereto the hammer blow.

26. In a pile sinking apparatus, the combination of a casing having an open lower end adapted to fit loosely over the head of a pile, said casing being provided With an interior supportingwall adapted to sustain the same upon said pile, a spacing block between said wall and the head of the pile, a body of loose cushioning material above said supporting Wall, and a' plunger block resting upon said cushioningmaterial movable With- 28. In a ile sinkin a aratus the combination with the easing c, the cushion Z), the Wall d, and the block 6.

29. In a pile sinking apparatus, the com bination With jetting means and pile for-sing means, of means for interposing a cushioning of loose material between the pile and the said forcing means.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK B. GILBRETP.

W itnesses:

EMMA Knsrnn, G. W. COOPER. 

